How will the Retirement Savings Modernization Act Impact Investors?

Welcome to October’s inaugural issue of “The GowerCrowd Real Estate Crowdfunding Newsletter.” This week, in the newsletter, we’ve got several new deals for your reading pleasure, including two CrowdStreet deals- a new offering in one of the strongest industrial markets in the US and a diversified debt fund that offers instant diversification via 100+ high-yield senior secured loans. 

We’ll go on to take a look at the growing popularity of farmland investing– with some well-heeled investors comparing the space to traditional high-flying sectors like the tech industry. We’ll also check the Retirement Savings Modernization Act, which is set to include alternative assets for 401ks- like digital assets, private securities, and more.

Afterward, we will look at the October edition of “The Lay of the Land,” AcreTrader’s investor newsletter, as well as several new podcasts- including one from our very own Dr. Adam Gower. 

Let’s get into it.

New Crowdfunding Platform Deals

The Lakeview Commerce Center is a to-be-built, state-of-the-art flex-office industrial development that is intended to significantly outperform existing product quality and efficiency compared to its competitive set. It sits in Grantsville, Utah, in a market replete with largely obsolete vintage flex-office spaces from the 1980s and 90s. 

The 500k+ sq ft building is divisible into smaller spaces, with the smallest coming in right around 40k sq ft. The deal has a targeted investor IRR of 22.3%, 1.5x, 1.1%, and a targeted investment period of 2 years. Read more about this advanced industrial flex space on CrowdStreet, here.

Our next deal is the RD Real Estate Debt Fund II LP. It is an actively managed, diversified fund that includes more than 100 shorter-term senior loans backed by numerous value-add investment properties. The fund focuses on properties in the US Northeast and has over 5 years of continued operations, with over 200 loans worth $160 million in principal amounts since its inception roughly 5 years ago. 

The Fund manager, RD Advisors, grew loan closing by more than 330% year-over-year in 2021- and has already passed the 2021 total closings number so far this year. To learn more about the RD Real Estate Debt Fund II LP, check out their deal page on CrowdStreet, here.

General Crowdfunding Industry News

Here at the newsletter, we’ve regularly brought you farmland-focused deals. Well, the secret is out, and a recent article in Benzinga highlights the rise of farmland investing and, as the author puts it- “udderly ridiculous returns” in the corn industry and beyond. Farmland investors may benefit from food shortages and higher inflation, which has led many well-heeled investors- from Bill Gates to Warren Buffet, to take large positions in American farmland. Find out more about how farmland assets are driving substantial returns on Benzinga, here.

Last week, Senators Tim Scott and Pat Toomey, alongside Representative Peter Meijer, introduced the Retirement Savings Modernization Act, a bill intended to greatly increase the asset classes available to retirement savers in the United States- like your standard 401k plans. The legislation’s goal is to help individual investors better diversify their savings through the use of alternative assets- including digital assets. 

If passed, the legislation would amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or ERISA, to give private-sector retirement plan sponsors the ability to offer investment opportunities that are not currently available for retirement savers. Get the rest of the scoop at Crowdfund Insider, here.

Crowdfunding Platform Updates

It’s the beginning of the month, which means you’ve got access to the newest issue of AcreTrader’s monthly newsletter, “Lay of the Land,” a newsletter intended for investors interested in agriculture and productive farmland. In this month’s issue, they look at some of the recent media coverage bestowed upon AcreTrader deals, a big-time Summit speaker, and a short overview of all the new investment opportunities available to AcreTrader investors. 

Click here to read AcreTrader’s Lay of the Land, now.

Multimedia Links (Videos, Podcasts, etc.)

Finally, we’ve got a new podcast for your listening pleasure, a discussion with Larry Feldman, CEO of Feldman Equities on the latest edition of “The Real Estate Crowdfunding Show,” hosted by real estate crowdfunding (and Economics!) educator Dr. Adam Gower. In this week’s episode, Dr. Gower speaks with his good friend Larry Feldman, the CEO of office-property firm Feldman Equities. 

The discussion is a timely one, as uncertainty infects the office market, and the commercial real estate sector as a whole- largely due to post-pandemic changes and the rise of Work From Home. Feldman has seen and survived several serious economic downturns, and in this week’s podcast, he shares some of the strategies he uses to not only survive during a recessionary market- but thrive. Give it a listen on Listen Notes, here.

That’s all for this week- but we’ll see you soon with more real estate crowdfunding news stories, new deals, podcasts, and platform updates. See you soon!